Tottenham have finally got busy in the transfer market with two loan signings in the last 48 hours confirmed. Apparently Parker and Cole are soon to follow if rumours are to be believed, as the club finally loses patience over Lassana Diarra.
At FFC this week we have seen a mixed bag of Spurs blogs that includes Van der Vaart’s set pieces are terrible; Levy in need of another pair of hands, while Harry Redknapp considers swap deal.
We also look at the best Spurs articles around the web this week.
Levy in need of another pair of transfer hands
Missing out on Modric may not Mata
If nice guys do it – what hope is there for the likes of Tottenham?
Van der Vaart and his terrible set pieces
Can Tottenham benefit from such a late sale?
Will double signing bring Champions League football back to White Hart Lane?
Spurs’ greatest ever player Dave Mackay was a giant at just 5’7″
Liverpool and Tottenham given £9m greenlight as contract talks stall
Pulis close to reaching £8m agreement with Spurs
Harry Redknapp considers swap move
* Best of WEB *
We know our place – Spurs Musings From JimmyG2
Tottenham transfers…make ’em stop, please make ’em all stop – Dear Mr Levy
The Pav Parallax Is Killing Football – Tottenham On My Mind
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
It’s All Levy’s Fault – But It’s Alright Rodney – Arry As A Cunnin’ Plan –Harry Hotspur
Pessimism Abounds – All Action No Plot
[divider]
Click on image below to take a closer look at Cristina
Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie has stated that he does not want to negotiate a new contract at the Emirates for the time being, leaving Arsene Wenger fearing he may lose another key player.
The Netherlands international’s current deal in North London takes him up to June 2013, but the French coach is keen to extend the attacker’s contract after seeing Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas depart in the summer.
Despite this, Van Persie has stated that he is happy with his current deal, and will not entertain extension talks at this time.
“I still have almost two years, so for the moment that’s fine. I’m happy with my contract. I can’t look into the future. I can’t see us talking now because we are so busy – we have games every three or four days,” he told The Daily Mail.
“Maybe we will leave it until the end of the season. The main thing for me is the team and that we play well,” he concluded.
Arsenal entertain Olympiakos in the Champions League on Wednesday, and will look to build on their weekend victory over Bolton.
[divider]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
It has been confirmed that the FA will investigate claims that John Terry racially abused Anton Ferdinand in QPR’s 1-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday, after the Loftus Road side made an official complaint.
The England international defender is alleged to have made racist comments to the former Sunderland centre half, but maintains his innocence.
After the incident between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra just the week before, the game’s ruling body is keen to kick this nasty trait out of the game in England, and has confirmed that they will investigate Ferdinand’s claims further.
“The FA can confirm it has received a complaint relating to an alleged incident of racist abuse in the QPR versus Chelsea fixture at Loftus Road on 23 October 2011,” an official statement reads.
“The FA will now begin to make enquiries into this matter. The FA takes seriously any allegations of discrimination and abuse of this type.”
Terry immediately issued a retort, claiming that Ferdinand’s accusations are untrue.
“I welcome the FA enquiry and look forward to clearing my name as soon as possible. Until then I have no further comment,” Terry stated.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have been charged by the FA over the game with QPR, with the governing body finding the London club guilty of failing to control it’s players, after both Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba were dismissed during the defeat.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Andre Villas Boas is also in hot water, and has been asked to explain his negative comments in regards to referee Chris Foy; both charges have a deadline of Friday to be answered.
Arsenal attacker Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain bagged a hat-trick for England under-21’s, as they overcame a tricky test against their Iceland equivalents on Thursday night, winning 3-0.
The 18-year-old scored two goals in the first half, and completed his treble, and the visitor’s comprehensive victory, with another early in the second period.
The win continues Stuart Pearce’s side’s 100 per cent record in their qualifying campaign for the under-21 European Championships in Israel, set to be played in 2013.
The Gunners winger put in an impressive performance in his debut season in Premier League football, and is starting to justify the £12 million price tag that Arsene Wenger paid to Southampton for his services in the summer.
Liverpool full-back Martin Kelly returned to the team after being sidelined through injury, but Nathan Delfouneso and Martyn Waghorn both had to be replaced during the fixture in Rejkavik, with the duo picking up hamstring knocks.
England now travel to take on Norway on Monday night, who are also unbeaten in Group 8.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Grant Holt scored a stoppage time penalty to rescue a point for Norwich who fought back from 3-1 down against Blackburn who looked on course to win their first away game of the season.
The Norwich skipper climbed off the bench for a second consecutive week to save the Canaries again after heading the equaliser against Liverpool seven days prior. The result was incredibly on Blackburn and their boss Steve Kean who must have thought his side had picked up their first victory away from Ewood Park only to be pegged back at the death. However the boo boys who have been hounding the club to sack Kean over the course of the season will have been silenced after Rovers produced an enterprising performance in what as a fast paced and absorbing encounter. The point lifts the away side off the bottom and into 18th although a win would have seen them rise out of the bottom three for the first time in over a month. They’ll be deeply unhappy with referee Anthony Taylor after his decision to punish Steven N’Zonzi for handling in the area with the decision seeming a tad harsh.
Going into the game the consensus was that Kean needed a win and a performance to stave off the sack for another week and his side looked intent on prolonging their manages stay in the dugout. The away side, boosted by an extra time win against Newcastle in the Carling Cup, carved out numerous opportunities to take the lead with Mauro Formica setting the tone with rasping 25-yard drive early on. Thats not to say Norwich weren’t involved as they created chances of their own and but they were only woken up from their slumber after Yakubu sliced an effort wide. David Fox brought the best out of Paul Robinson from range before Elliott Bennett fired into the side netting. That proved to be a costly miss from the former Brighton man as Junior Hoillet deservedly put Rovers in front during first half stoppage time. The Canadian evaded a few challenges before lashing a super striker past John Ruddy from 20-yards.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Improvement was needed from the Canaries and they came out for the second period looking revitalised and they equalised through Steve Morison. The Welshman has been a key figure in recent weeks at Carrow Road and he finished with aplomb from the edge of the area after being set up by Leon Barnett. Once they concede Blackburn usually crumble but they looked to have secured their first win on the road with two quick fire goals. Firstly Yakubu saw his tame shot creep underneath Ruddy’s body before Christopher Samba established a two goal cushion flicking Morten Gamst-Pedersen’s free kick into the net. However it wasn’t to be as Rovers came under siege from a home side determined not to concede defeat in what was a frantic final few minutes. Midfielder Bradley Johnson reduced the arrears with seven minutes remaining with a crisp finish from the edge of the area before referee Taylor pointed to the spot in stoppage time after he adjudged N’Zonzi to have deliberately handled. Despite strong appeals from the visitors the decision stood and Holt kept his cool to slot the ball past Robinson from 12-yards to conclude a frenzied afternoon in Norfolk.
Tottenham attacker Rafael van der Vaart has confirmed that he is fit and available for selection for this weekend’s trip to take on Stoke at the Britannia Stadium, but understands why he was only on the bench against Bolton last Saturday.
The Netherlands international had been sidelined with a persistent hamstring injury, and Harry Redknapp preferred to partner Jermain Defoe with Emmanuel Adebayor in the White Hart Lane side’s 3-0 win over The Trotters.
Redknapp faces a selection dilemma with two in-form players vying for the one position, and Van der Vaart has stated that he is ready to play.
“With regards to my injury I can say it feels pretty well, up to 100 per cent fit. I just have to keep up the hard work this week and hope I start next game,” he told the club’s official website.
Despite at times displaying temperamental behaviour, Van der Vaart understands and accepts his omission from the Spurs team that beat Bolton.
“I fully understand I had to start on the bench. I could only train once with the group. Then there are some more players the manager can pick, so of course I had to start off the bench,” he concluded.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The excitement is building as the Christmas period begins and it is now just a matter of days until the January transfer window opens. Plenty of festive football for everyone to tuck in to before the year ends is exactly what is required for players to put themselves in the shop window if they want out of their current clubs as soon as possible.
Over 100 players are out of contract at the end of the season and clubs will be looking to get whatever money they can for them in January to prevent losing the individual for free in the summer. It could be like walking into a footballing pound shop next month as players that would have been worth multi million pound bids in the past may now be able to leave for next to nothing.
Here is a look at the top ten likely transfer snips to be had in the Premier League over the next few weeks and who will be a possible bargain of the season.
Click on Junior Hoilett to unveil the top 10
[divider]
[divider]
[divider]
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Danny Wellbeck’s late goal gave Manchester United a well deserved win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and ensured they remained hot on the heels of rivals City at the Premier League summit.
With Roberto Mancini’s side emerging victorious from a thrilling contest earlier in the day to move six points clear at the top it was left up to United to close the gap once again. The pressure looked like it was getting to Sir Alex Ferguson’s men as they laboured to break down a stubborn Gunners side with Antonio Valencia’s header on the stroke of half time loosening the restraints after the break. It was the hosts who upped their game in the second half and deservedly equalised through leading scorer Robin Van Persie just moments after he had missed a glorious opportunity. However Arsene Wenger’s decision to replace the impressive Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with Andriy Arshavin failed to pay dividends as he Russian allowed Valencia to ghost past him and cross for Danny Welbeck to secure the points for United and put them three points behind City.
Wenger certainly sprung a surprise before kick off as he opted to give 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain his full Premier League debut and it wasn’t long before the teenager was causing havoc robbing Phil Jones in possession on the left and driving into the penalty area only to be thwarted by Johnny Evans. The Gunners bright start saw them fashion the first real chance of the game through Aaron Ramsey’s tame strike that trickled into the arms of Anders Lindergaard. The visitors were struggling to create anything of note and they were dealt a blow just after the quarter hour as Jones landed awkwardly on his ankle and had to be stretchered off. Despite that United steadily increased the tempo as they took control of the first period but just couldn’t get the better of an uncompromising home defence. That was until the stroke of half time when Ryan Giggs whipped in a terrific cross for Valencia to nod in at the back post and give United a deserved lead going into the break.
To Arsenal’s credit that came out firing after the restart although their comeback was put into doubt when Van Persie went down under a challenge from Valencia and required lengthy treatment before returning to the fray. That injury scare seemed to have had an adverse reaction on the Dutchman as his usual composure deserted him seven minutes after half time as his wild effort strayed well wide after Thomas Rosicky’s selfish pull back. Ramsey then scuffed a shot over the bar after being picked out by a superb ball from Oxlade-Chamberlain who then flashed an effort wide of the post. The Gunners had their opponents on the rails and finally made the breakthrough with in the 71st minute as Van Persie atoned for his earlier miss calmly slotting home after being picked out by Oxlade-Chamberlain in the area. The former Southampton winger was then giving a standing ovation by the Emirates crowd as he replaced soon after by Arshavin but seven minutes later all the fingers were pointed at the Russian as United regained the lead. The winger allowed Valencia to skip inside him way too easily before the Ecuadorian played a neat one-two with Park Ji Sung and crossed for Welbeck who made no mistake with an emphatic finish. It was a hammer blow to Wenger’s side who’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season took a huge hit as Ferguson’s Red Devil’s kept themselves firmly in the title race.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The tackling debate seems to take place every season, but not always with the same debaters, and not always with the same arguments. Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany’s, undeniably well thought-out, response to his red card against rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup made some interesting points. His main argument was that the reason the Premier League is the most watched league in the world is due to the physicality. The Belgian international said:
“My understanding is that English football prides itself on the hardness, the fairness and the tradition of its game. That is why hundreds of millions of people tune in to watch Premier League football.”
Kompany was quick to praise the referees whilst merely asking for more consistency. However there is a problem with this; players always call for two things from referees: common sense and consistency. However the two demands are juxtaposed to each other. Either there is a blanket criteria for red and yellow cards and that template is used for every single incident regardless of player mistakes and adhered to without consulting common sense, or common sense is used and the referees are allowed to make up their mind by applying the rules to the individual situation they see in front of them. Neither is objectively the better view, but it is important to recognise that consistency and common sense are, to an extent, mutually exclusive in football.
However Kompany’s point about us losing the physicality in our game that makes it so popular is a fair point. The loss of the physical competitiveness would be a shame, but tackling alone does not embody that. There are many elements to the physical side to our game: for example speed and strength are just as much a part of our game as hard tackling; you could also consider that not reacting to minor fouls is more important than allowing stronger tackles. If every player stayed on their feet every time they could then we wouldn’t be complaining as much as we are. There are bad and strong tackles in every league in the world, that in the English leagues players are less inclined to go down under those tackles is what makes the league ‘more physical’, not the tackles themselves.
However there are areas where perhaps it could be argued that we are less physical. Certainly our attitudes towards goalkeepers, even in the twenty years that I have been watching football, has changed. They are protected beyond belief these days and are always given the benefit of the doubt when they come for ball and miss it at corners or with crosses.
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]
It is also true that if we are looking at, not the strength, but the number of tackles in the Premier League then we are losing that side to the English game. In the last six years the number of tackles per game has fallen every single year and over that period there are now ten fewer tackles per game now than there were in 2006/07. During the 2006/07 season we had the highest number of tackles per game in Europe, now we are fifth in that table. However, whilst this data has some use to us it is not conclusive. The fewer tackles might mean more people playing the offside trap, or less players dribbling and more direct styles of football, or more wingers who are quick enough to evade tackles. There might be fewer tackles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean less physicality.
One final point is that increasingly these days we have older outfield players who are still able to be effective in the English game. Paul Scholes made a scoring return out of retirement whilst Thierry Henry scored on his second debut for Arsenal. Similarly Ryan Giggs is still playing football, and well, as he approaches forty. So how can we explain these older players, some who even retired, being able to come back to the Premier league and hold their own. Well you could put it down to a less physical English game, or you could put it down to developments in sports science; exercise, nutritional experts, yoga and other tools that can be used to prolong the physical prowess of these aging players and are more than capable of justifying their presence in the English game. Kompany’s, and others’, concerns that we may be losing the very ‘Englishness’ of our game that makes it so popular is perhaps a valid concern, depending on your definition of what makes a game physical, and what physical aspects make the game ‘English’. For Kompany it might be going in hard on tackles and giving the defenders the benefit of the doubt, however for me that is just too simplistic. There are so many aspects that make a game physically competitive and it is ultimately hard to argue that we are losing that side to our game.
Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay
[divider]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
In a world where footballers generally have the intellectual capacity of a root vegetable, it’s rare to find a man who has his head screwed on when it comes to transfer dealings. Players often complain about being lured to a club under false pretences, bemoaning an inability to move on when they’re unhappy. Demba Ba is not one of these men; he appears to be a fierce negotiator, who can see beyond his next pay packet.
Few expected the Senegalese front-man to be such a hit in the Premier League, following his arrival at West ham from Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim, but he well and truly hit the ground running, averaging just over a goal every other game for the East Londoners. Not even club co-owner David Sullivan predicted such an impact following his controversial move to Upton Park, as a result the Hammers allowed Ba to sign a contract with a relegation release clause, a piece of business the player, and his agent, insisted upon on after the club had a wage drop of 50%, in the event of exiting the Premier League, written into the contract. Sullivan told the website www.westhamtillidie.com:
“It just didn’t enter our heads. It didn’t enter anybody’s head that he’d score enough goals that we’d want to give him £40k a week and his old club £15-20k an appearance and we’d still be relegated.
“In reality, that’s exactly what happened. The agent just threw it in at the last minute.
“He said, ‘Obviously if his salary is cut by 50%, you’ve got to let him walk’. We thought, ‘Okay, if we get relegated, do we really want a £40k-a-week striker in the Championship?’
“Well, we would have because he was devastating. If he was with us now and his knee had held up – because remember, he did have a very, very bad knee – I think we’d be 15 points clear, I really do.”
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]
As a result Ba slipped out of West Ham’s reach, completing his free transfer North to Newcastle, who did not learn from their rivals mistake. Despite strong denials from the Magpies, it is believed that the striker has another clause in his contract allowing for a cut-price this summer. In the event of any other side triggering this agreement, rumoured to be around £7 million, Ba would be free to move upon agreeing personal terms. To make this even worse for the Tyneside club, he would also pick up around half of the transfer fee due another sub-clause written into the deal.
“I’m told he’s got a £7million get-out at Newcastle and he gets half the money over that
“They keep denying it, but I think you’ll see in the summer he will leave Newcastle, or he’ll get a monstrous rise to stay there.
“If they get about £4million, half will go to him, so if they sell him for £7million, they’ll only net about three because they paid his agent £2 million to get him out of here.
“Getting £3million is not bad, but for a player of his quality, it’s not fantastic.” (Mirror)
So, all-in-all Newcastle risk losing their key man this summer and only pocketing around £3 million, which will worry even the most short sited of Geordie supporters.
This puts Ba in a strong negotiating position with his employers, who if they are serious about keeping him and mounting a charge for European football, will have to hand him a significant pay rise.
Ba has been impressive this term, netting 12 goals before departing for the African Cup of Nations in January, then marking his return with another strike in the 2-1 win over Aston Villa. With this kind of form some of the Premier Leagues bigger clubs, including Liverpool and Tottenham are rumoured to be looking at the prolific marksman with a summer transfer in mind.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Newcastle are surely all too aware of this, and will almost certainly enter into negotiations with their star-man in a bid to keep him at the Sports Direct Arena, where he is striking up a good relationship with his fellow countryman Papiss Cisse.
It’s refreshing to see a player with the foresight to negotiate a deal which will benefit him in the long run, refusing to be doped by the, often, empty promises of club officials. Demba Ba looks to be just as at home in the board room as he does in the penalty area, let that be a warning to any clubs chasing him during the next transfer window.
Follow @Alex_Hams on Twitter, where we can share our unhealthy obsessions with the beautiful game.